Sword Art Online: Reprogrammed
by Fyro Xcil
Summary: Sword Art Online rewritten. Kayaba made the death game, and if it's not just for trapping 10,000 people, then what else? What else lies around the shadows of Aincrad? What of its creators? And how does Kirito fit in through all of this? Watch as the magnificent events unfold, one that is not just about clearing the game, but changing humanity, for better or for worse.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Some of you may be like….damn. Why did he post a prologue out of nowhere? If you don't know what I'm talking about, then skip to the next paragraph. I wanted to have a better way to introduce the story, and what's a better way to do that? What's that? Oh, that's right. We got to let the main antagonist be an awesome main antagonist…The poor guy wants screen time, and if I didn't give him some at the start of the series, he wouldn't appear for like until around CH 30 or something, which is bad (of course, Idk if he's actually going to appear somewhere around CH 30, just guessing without even any basis) and not good for the plot.

Kayaba's character was mysterious, but damn, did it leave questions larger than (insert obligatory dirty joke here XD). I had to flesh him out so that he would be useful to the plot, and not just be a static plot device. Come on, if I did that, my inner writer would be flipping tables.

* * *

**11 famous blacksmiths = 1 legendary sword**

'_Kayaba. Kayaba. Get out of your delusional fantasy, you murderer.'_

That last line compressed my chest, making me gasp, taking away my ability to breathe. My body longed for oxygen, my chest convulsing and I coughed up blood…black blood?

'_That is proof of how rotten on the inside you really are. You disgusting….'_

Suddenly, I was choked by the sudden pressure that surrounded me, when I couldn't take it anymore, my eyes slowly rolled upwards, enveloping my body and vision with darkness.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAARGH", I screamed my throat raw. I was drenched in cold sweat, and I felt unbelievable heat, as if I was already condemned to hell.

Hell. I'm going to Hell.

I threw my blankets aside and sat with my face buried in my hands. I realized that I continued gasping for air when I was in my nightmare, and when I reached my limit, I held my breath for who knows how long. When I woke up, I released all that on a scream of terror.

I ruffled my hair in frustration. What's the point in getting scared at this point? There is no backing out now. I can only move forward now…or else the monsters chasing me would catch up to me.

I finally stood up with my will hardened once again, if tentatively. I was in the work mood, boosted by the fresh fear given to me in my isolation, something like a drug dose inserted into my system and getting addicted to it.

I could go to the research station on these clothes, but they give me a comfortable feeling…and as much as I yearn for this rare gift, I cannot think properly on this attire. They are poisonous for this particular situation. The Hell heat of conflicting emotions burned inside me, giving me the illusion that my current threads are on fire. I scrambled to take off every piece of it on a hurry, leaving me panting me hard from those seemingly laborious movements.

My whole being felt cool by being naked, as if the world was welcoming me, like a wave of water calming down a large bonfire created by humanity. But that was…

The fire also symbolized the humans' hope for the non-existent, and the H2O was nature telling them "Lol Nope. **** you."

Yet, it's funny. The humans created the fire and danced around it, praising and calling it right, divine, heavenly, godly, the past, present and future but the punch line of the joke was…no one dared to come even close to the element that causes bodily harm. NO ONE. They both resented and loved their ideals, those damn hypocrites. They call those who, in curiosity, tries studying it more closely as fools. The worst part is that they supported the extraordinary people, calling them saints and special human beings, but when the fire hurts the extraordinary people because they pushed us too far, they call us STUPID. That the idea shouldn't have entered our minds in the first place, when the reason we got close to it in the first place is to help them.

"You're one of them, aren't you? The 'ignorant, laughable normals' who sit in the sidelines.", I said towards my dead family, whose faces I gratefully forgot, that resisted my beliefs, even when it was still at the non-applicable stage, and arrogantly declared theirs right, bombarding me with changing-behavior techniques…those incredibly narrow-minded religious bastards. (A/N: I hope I don't offend some readers here because this is what our character thinks. What I think is entirely unrelated and none of your business.)

I can't take out my anger on a bunch that doesn't belong in this world anymore…some people say that I don't respect my relatives enough, but respect is earned, not given. I DON'T GIVE RESPECT TO OTHERS WHO DON'T RESPECT MY BELIEFS, **AND MOST DON'T**.

I quickly changed into my a black shirt and pants, covered with my white lab coat. It was too white. It's supposed to be tainted, like me, like everyone. Like the men on black outside, waiting to execute my death penalty…curious to see what my blood color is as if I'm some alien.

But they're my only friends. Comrades. Soldiers in battle against society, and there's one thing that held our relationship together through these tough times.

That we were meant to take the fall together, forever. People I can laugh with while having a picnic in Hell, a prison just for foolish mortals like us.

I took the NerveGear that I built myself, different from the released products that are now probably sold out, including the electronic hardware that comes with it. I don't have the slightest worry of the black market being able to copy it and produce the same results, then selling it for tons of money. Because ours has a special feature: the very core of our research, and our dangerous ideals. It's the uncertain future.

I slammed the door open, the chilly midnight wind blowing to inside my house. It's as if some divine power is telling me "Don't go. You know what awaits you when take that single, decisive step. You can still back out of this and lead a different life. Listen to me."

"I refuse.", I muttered, in reply to the plea. The moon shone brightly, as if the artificial light emitted by this urban city did not dull it. It felt as if the we were in the mountains, or the space object from far away was threatening me too, just like the wind. True, it was very scary. Those 10 Men and their figures were menacing under the moonlight. But I'm sure of one thing…I too must have looked hideous under the 'so-called righteous' light of society.

I walked confidently on the path, like I was on the red carpet. The whole world is watching, holding it's breath like I did earlier, eyes wide open, anxious to see the events that were going to unfold. But no matter how excited the world is, they are not ready.

That's why were going to force them to be. It's our job now.

Some people might call us Delusional Kings.

Or crazy fools that abuse their power.

Maybe demons in disguise.

Perhaps sins of the world.

But no matter who we are…our identity remains the same.

**We are Gods.**

**Gods of this world.**

**We hold humanity's future in our hands.**

**But we…**

**We….**

(A/N: The 'You' he is talking about is society. He's not actually talking to you. You wish.)

**We are just like you, but had the courage and the means to do something about our problems.**

**So now, you have no choice but to follow our directions. Since you didn't choose to be strong, then you must have wanted a shepherd to herd and supervise all of you cattle. **

**Don't worry. We are not immortal, so no matter what we do, the end result is up to you.**

**And if it gets ****** up…**

**Then it's not our fault, is it?**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I, am in no way, related to the other-worldly beings that brought us this gift, held a lot of promise but died later on.**

**I am sorry if you can't understand our lovely main antagonist's reasoning, beliefs or just think he's crazy. That just means that you have a normal psychology and will never be like him, so if you don't want to be hated by society, then that's good. **


	2. Kirito and Klein

**Part 1: This world is real**

**Chapter 1: Encounter**

"I'm back."

The familiar medieval structures surrounding me are giving off a familiar aura. However, the new factor of the seemingly endless stream of entering players is all but lost to me. What captivated me was this….This nostalgic feeling, and sense of belonging, along with the giddiness of someone a child who recovered his favorite toy.

"I'm back in this world."

Sword Art Online.

* * *

This is annoying.

I have been here for at least 10 minutes, unable to pick a weapon. A dagger, or a dagger? This store is what I thought was best, after I saw all the good stuff taken from the other shops. The two highlighted weapons of this NPC is right in front of me, and judging by their stats, I can't choose either one. No one is willing to help me in this cramped market street since almost everyone are beginners, and the beta testers are nowhere to be found, doubtless already levels ahead of us. Man, this is a pain. If I don't go soon, I won't be able to go hunting with my friends later on.  
"Power dagger specializes in power. Speed dagger specializes in speed.", said the NPC in a cheerful voice.

"Yes, yes, I already know."  
Is there anyone that I kept waiting behind me? I glanced behind and thankfully, there was no one. I went back to my indecisiveness then I felt a short burst of air blow across my back.  
'What was that?', I thought. 'Did someone just jump over me?'.

My mind processed the variables that were laid in front of me and I instantly reached a conclusion. It went like this: why would someone jump over me? = in a hurry = must know the place well = must be a beta tester.

I'm lucky. To think there was still someone of that caliber who hasn't went exploring yet must be odd. I had better catch him.

I suddenly turned around, knocking a few players accidentally, and causing a huge commotion in general. In contrast, he gracefully dodges while sprints at his near full speed. The others don't even know he's there.

I also sprinted, but at my fullest, and didn't care whatsoever about the hit-and-runs and curses I received. The boy suddenly turned left towards an abandoned alley, and I almost missed that. I stopped, slid my feet to the opposite direction, held on the corner of the wall of the turn with one hand, and thrust myself again into pursuit of the black-haired person.

Once I did, I realized how far he really was. Damn it, I won't get him at this rate. I'm going to lose him, and I'll lose my sense of direction and end up trying to escape the alleyways. I only have one shot at this.

"OY!", I shouted.

The boy jumped at the surprise, making him stumble and lose his rhythm.

I jogged fast over to him, and he took a few steps backward.

I planted my feet just a meter away from him, clasped my hands together, and bowed.

"Please guide me!"

The boy was confused, and scratched his head, thinking that this was a strange development.

**Chapter 2: Klein and Kirito**

"OY!"

What the hell?

Crap, someone's going to rob me. I clenched my fist to harden my will and grab my sword.

Yet, when I nonchalantly spun, I was surprised when the young man took steps towards me. I studied him and realized that he is a beginner. Shock filled me, but I didn't dare show it on my face. Is he that confident? Oh well, I'll make him learn just what kind of a world this is.

What he did next though was totally unexpected. He quickly bent his upper body to a 90 degree angle, and asked something that should have been obvious to me from the beginning.

"Please guide me!"

How stupid of me. I've seen jerks that attack others on the excuse of 'testing out the game mechanics.' They all turned into massive brawls in the end. I hope Sword Art Online doesn't go that route. I thought he was one of them, and confronted me here on a quiet alleyway.

"What do you mean?", I inquired just for good measure.

"If you would be so kind, please teach me the ways of Sword Art Online."

That sounds like it's going to take a lot of time. I want to go hunting immediately. But on the other hand, he looks competent. I will most likely see him as one of the top players later on, and if I reject him, it's going to come back to haunt me.

"S-sure."

He raised himself and shouted, "Really?!"

'He looks genuinely happy.'

"I was just going to go hunting anyway. Why don't you join me?"

"But I don't have a weapon yet."

We started to walk back to the packed market street.

"Don't worry. I'll help you. What's your name?"

"I'm Klein". Cline was red-haired, and it was very long. It is constricted by a red, patterned cloth that is tied around his forehead. His face and aura tells me that he is a very good and trustworthy person. He is wearing a somewhat medieval white shirt, and outside that is a brown sleeveless vest that covers half his upper body. Everything else is leather and same color, including his gloves that don't go up to his fingers. In short, default clothing everyone wears at the beginning.

"I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you, Klein."

"Likewise, friend. I hope we can work together nicely."

This was a nice start to things. I have a feeling we'll have a lasting friendship. (No bromance intended)

"So, what weapon do you prefer Klein?"

"Truth is, I can't pick."

"How long have you stayed indecisive?"

"Now that I actually think about it, maybe the amount of time you spend into making a very good custom MMORPG character?"

"Wha….." 'My god.'

"I was about to get a sword like everybody, but they were all sold out. Fortunately, a certain NPC caught my attention. She was only selling two things, and those were daggers that each had a different lean toward specific things in the stats. Come with me, I'll show you." 'If nobody has already bought them', thought Klein.

He jogged again and dived into the crowd. What I saw was chaos. There were overturned carts and stalls, players who had their life decreased a bit and a hell of a lot of people involved in an angry mob.

"Um..."

"Don't ask."

'Ok.' It looks like they were starting to disperse, but once they noticed Klein, they were moving toward us.

"Um..."

"Run.", he whispered.

"What?"

"Just run."

We turned around, and started to run. I felt one of their hands just brush against my shirt, and knew that we had to flee as if they were after our life.

Crap, they're bringing weapons. What the hell, Klein? Just what kind of person did I meet? How did he get in this trouble? How long is this going to take? These questions breezed past my mind as I was running.

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I don't really own anything. If I did, I would still let SAO keep running. Haha, sorry for my rookie mistake some earlier readers might have noticed. Thing is, I kinda head-dived without even knowing how to properly swim in this site. I was too exited XD. Now I did it properly, so you can enjoy. You may have noticed I did two chapters. I like doing things on my rate, not others. So, if I feel like it, don't be surprised if you see a bunch of chapters when I was just supposed to do one. I'll try to write daily, since it's my passion, so check everyday for possible updates. Other than that, I hope you put up lots of reviews for me to read and maybe ponder upon. See ya. _**


	3. A Future Enemy

**Chapter 3: A future enemy**

Tch. They are still chasing us, and even though most of them had given up, I still somehow anger some more and invite them to join the hunt. It's never-ending. I can't fight back since I don't have a weapon, plus I don't even know how to fight, and I thought that the Kirito would, but I guess I over-estimated him. If he won't, then how are we going to get out of their radar? We're not going to last long, since this game has an endurance limit on each character. Yet worse, Kirito will probably leave me after this trouble ends. I'll lose all my friends, including the ones I was supposed to meet. I'm way past the deadline of the reunion. This is the most horrible way to start a MMORPG, even if it was the best game ever.

* * *

Slash!

I thought I was hit and blood was spraying, but it was just the red light after-effects of the sword swing. How silly of me. Sword Art Online doesn't show any gore, only slashes creating simple, digitized flesh on contact.

I lost my footing while running, so to compensate, I jumped forward to be on par with Klein. They know they can't catch up to us, so they tried different things, like sword skills, organized attacks, leaving no means of escape for us, etc. Now, they are going for my feet and legs because those lag behind as you take each step. If they succeed, then they will cut my tendons and/or injure me enough so that I can't use them. Once that scenario occurs, it's game over. Humans, especially MMORPG gamers, get drunk with power, since that is the only thing to strive to. Constant bullying, and forced loyalty will follow us. I can't let Klein face all that. Not to mention, this is a virtual reality world. The developers made it clear that they will not interfere with any society-related problems participants will stumble upon, unless notified, like stealing, stalking, and physical damage, since they want to make the simulation as real as possible. The developers divided players into two categories: casual, and hardcore. Casuals can just report, and it would stop at that, but they obviously want the hardcore ones to solve their own problems. Their reasoning is: Hey, this is a game based on power. If you're getting your ass handed to you, then it's your responsibility as a gamer to get stronger, right? Everybody thought that they were odd, but it never holds meaning as it's quickly buried by the immense popularity this world holds. Sword Art Online does have a jail system for those crimes, but you would have to take matters in you own hands in the real world if you don't want to be bothered. However, developers still want players to enjoy the as much as possible, and won't put up with extremely taboo things, like threats and actions that carry on to the other side.

I can't fight back since there is a big chance I will fail, and Klein will take the blow afterwards. Even though all of us are still LVL 1, you can't ignore the fact that we're overwhelmingly outnumbered.

"Kirito! Answer me!", Klein yelled.

"Wha? What do you want?", I asked.

"What do I want? More like, what do we do?!", Klein yelled again, agitated.

"What do you mean? You just run and follow me.", I replied, confused.

"Maybe that wasn't the best idea.", he muttered.

"What was that? If you don't want my help, then just say so!"

Just then, I could see Klein's new side arise as his anger boiled to the point where he probably didn't even notice the people behind us.

"You haven't helped me at all! Are you even a beta tester?!", he countered.

Before I even knew it, we were surrounded from all four sides. Those four paths were filled with muscled men, all wielding the LVL 1 sword, one of the first weapons you can buy, and the most popular choice. I get the feeling they were looking forward to this, and hungered for some action, yet they can't.

"While you were spacing out, they led us here with their assembled forces.", Klein continued. All of his frustration was directed towards me, but he took it to himself, too. His hair was a mess, and his nerves were getting the better of him, making him shaky and unstable. "It was easy for them because of your pattern in movement that was easy to memorize. This town is not large, you know. You brought this upon us, Kirito. How do you plan on getting us out of this, huh?"

He's right. My indecisiveness cost us the battle. I fail as a beta tester. But I won't give up, even if we get to face the consequences that result after this.

I unsheathed the LVL 1 sword that hung across my back, and assumed a battle stance. I put both of my hands on the handle, since my strength still wasn't that great. I bent my knees, and placed the sword on level with my hips, and held the tip up. I wore a mask of unrestrained, killing intent to scare them. It worked, as the thugs instinctively backed off, and even Klein dropped his anger. I chuckled, amused at it's effect. Gamers are still gamers, after all.

"My, my. You plan to fight? I must commend you for that, you imbeciles.", said a sweet but tainted with poison, inviting voice that was slowly appearing in front of us. The thugs gave way to him, and out come a handsome man with flowing blond hair and green eyes. However, we stood our ground and tensed even more, because he was willing to get closer to us, when no one dared to.

"What do you want from us?", Klein pressured to the newcomer.

"You owe me money. I expect payment right now, and a lot of it."

"What did we do to you to deserve all of this?!"

His venomous smile became even more bigger and amused as he said,"Nothing. You just made me mad, that's all."

Damn, no other way.

As the man talked about the amount, I whispered to Klein,"Follow me.".

With my knees already bent, I just went further downward as if I was sitting. Klein did the same thing.

The man was surprised,"You're surrendering already? I had hoped you we're bigger prey than that. Though I prefer if you kneel-"

I jumped towards the walls and grabbed on to the rails of the building. It was probably an apartment. When I looked down, I saw Klein right below me and the shocked faces of the thugs, with their mouths agape, except for, who I guessed was the leader, the dangerous man.

"Hurry up, Kirito! They could poke my ass any time now!", Klein urged. His request broke the others out of their trance, and advanced towards the wall we're on, but still unsure of what to do. Most people still don't know that it's within game limits to climb things.

I increased my pace of climbing, and so did Klein. When we arrived at the top, we quickly ran out of their sight. The thugs decided to follow us on the street, rather than jump with us to each building.

"A beta tester, huh.", said the leader as there was a twinkle of a making of plan that appeared in his eyes.

* * *

When the area seemed clear, we climbed down and took a rest for 10 mins. to restore our endurance gauge.

"I've been meaning to ask you. How did you get in this circumstance?", I asked, breathlessly.

"I was following them.", he answered, too fast for my liking.

'_It was the opposite before? Is he actually like them?'_, I pondered.

"Why would you?", I asked.

"It's common sense.", Klein looked at me as if I was crazy.

'_This guy….'_, I thought, shocked.

The noise of the tens of footsteps neared us, making the ground vibrate.

"They're here already?", whined Klein.

"Yeah, we better go. I'll initiate my plan now."

"You had a plan, all along?!", Klein shouted at me. It attracted the thugs and told them where our location was. They passed us because they didn't see us, as we were hiding behind boxes. They turned around and headed towards us.

"Nice going, genius."

I got up and confirmed their suspicions of our whereabouts by noticing me, so I immediately ran. Klein was following closely behind me.

We turned right as another attack from left and behind pushed us again. It led us to a completely straight, yet abandoned path constricted by high buildings. We used this opportunity to sprint even faster, betting everything on this hope that we won't meet another obstacle.

"Let's buy ourselves some time.", I proposed.

"We should, but we can't buy ourselves free personal space."

"Then, we'll just have to get some inconvenient ones."

_'Is he finally preparing to fight? Will I see the real skills of a beta tester? Wait, do I have to join in too?', _thought Klein.

"We're here."

* * *

**Disclaimer: I am in no way related to the other-worldly beings that gave us this magnificent gift that held a lot of promise but died later on. If I did, I would still let SAO keep running. **

**I decided that I would do one chapter since it was too long. Remember my last author note? Of course you don't. You're probably not even reading this right now. Anyways, I will only do more than one chapter if it's horribly short, like last time. **

**This story will be slow-paced, I'll tell you that. I guess I should give you a bit of a sneak peek to tease you guys.**

**Listed below are the key factors that make up this fanfiction's plot as of now (some of them):**

**1. Beta Testers- That's right. It's not just Kirito anymore.**

**2. Kayaba Akihiko- His character wasn't well thought out, and it was just left as crap. The author (i'm sorry if i'm offending some people here) probably thought he would just pass as a mysterious character.**

**3. The 10 men- Ooh, damn gurl. Nothing to say. Just read the story. Eh, somewhere around ch. 5?**

**Yeah, give it to me! The reviews, I mean. PM me if you're too embarrassed (-is that really a word?) to show it to the public. Or just read it silently with no feedback at all, like the majority of the people in this site. No matter what you do, you do me good (lol dirty).**


	4. Are we friends?

**Chapter 4: What held us Together**

The glare of the setting sun made me look away, so I wasn't able to see what was in front of me. Although, you can't mistake the random noise of multiple people, no, scratch that, a lot of people. You could never forget what you first saw here, like an aware newborn, even if it's the shadow cast by those structures. Most of all, I became open to the fact of this recurring feeling, the same one that everyone probably had felt after just lightly touching the ground in the first few moments. It made you want to scream to your heart's content, "I'm free!" It gave me new strength, as if I had just bathed in regenerative water, as if Sword Art Online possessed them. Still, the shock that came, one that was stronger than this happiness, was the fear of what Kirito was planning to do.

"You can't mean…do you have to…why are we here?" I reluctantly asked after a few attempts, afraid of knowing the truth. He suddenly stopped and looked around.

"It ends here." he ominously replied.

This is bad. I have to convince him to stop. Wait, maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve, since he knows the ins and outs of the gamebetter than most. If he doesn't, even if he is a prized beta player, he most likely will get kicked out for making one hell of a commotion on the opening day. Not to mention, how is he even going to finish this and walk away in one piece? I doubt even he couldsurvive, much less win.

Argh, you can't just involve all of them whatsoever, Kirito!

"What are you doing?" Kirito asked out of nowhere.

"They're getting closer each second, I suggest you stop rolling on the ground and scratching your ass then sniffing your fingers and biting your nails."

"Even if this is a game, have some etiquettes, man." Kirito commented to his friend.

" I don't get how you can be so care-free." The pounding footsteps loomed over us like a giant, and neared us in an alarming rate.

I jumped up and pointed to him, "What are you thinking?! I'll stop you here right now if you continue on what I suspe**_-"_**

One second he was there, the next he wasn't. I don't know whether it was his ability**_,_** or my inability to track him with my eyes**_;_** but I seriously thought that he was going to kiss me. There was that once-in-a-lifetime moment where I managed to lock eyes with him, and his own told me**_"_**_Follow me or die._**_" _**He covered my mouth with his hand when it closed halfway, grabbed my hand and dragged me across the crowd, pushing others out of the way and eventually widening thedistance from us.

"Listen, when they start scaring the innocents, we'll blend in by acting like one, got it?"

By this time, he had let go of me and we slowed to snail's pace, as if we were just nonchalantly _chatting_**_, _**_I_ was questioning his intentions**_;_** but since we were stuck in this situation I had no choice but to abide by his orders. Sure enough, like Kirito**_;_** the thugs made a path for themselves. They spooked the bystanders, and successfully cleared themselves a rather large personal space.

The leader came soon after however**_,_** He looked frustrated and worn out, either from running or dealing with those idiots.

He roared out,"You fools! How are you going to find them if they are that compacted? Spread them out and smoke out the worthless dogs!"

The clueless players took this as a sign to get away from the area. It only took Kirito's subtle glance towards me signaled that it was time to take action.

He and I separated a small distance and kept an eye on each other. Meanwhile, he was checking the status of the searchinggroup. It was his job to warn me if they were in the within range of sight. To ensure that our act was working, we had to match the pace of the crowd, and only turn our heads to grasp the situation with long intervals in between each. After all, the golden rule of suspense and/or horror games is: Never look back when being chased.

Miraculously, we worked the odds into our favor. Now, another problem arises; which exitshould we take? Popular, or barely used? Kirito had presented me with this dilemma.

"Normally, it's wise to risk going with a swarmed one, yet it will most likely be also blocked by them." he whispered to me. Even though he was planning according to his environments, he seemed oblivious to it. He's even more ignorant than what people think of him. He gives off this peculiar aura, You can't feel it properly; so you wonder what of the other side of the personality he has is. Everybody has their own reasons of joining this wonderful dimension ignorant of the original; it's mother. I get this crushing intuition that the decisions that led him here are unique. It's still unclear if it's bad or good, but I knew immediately that it wasn't something I should get tangled up with. I may end up make it worse for Kirito, scratch that, I don't think he would ever let me get into his world.

"If we can't go through that, I want you to squeeze in with the majority, while I get their attention and enter through a different one." he suggested.

Kirito was willing to give up his circumstances for mine. Maybe it's a hint that he doesn't want to be involved with me anymore. I guess it would be best for both of us.

"If you're dead set, then I'll agree." That was what felt like our last conversation, we didn't even say any goodbyes. Either he was confident that we would get out of this somehow, or that he was just ignoring me; cutting off all ties with me. No matter what anybody might have said at that time, in my perspective, it was the latter.

The screams of the innocents continued. They were moving like their lives were going to end. Even in a game, everybody is still foreign to the concept of dying, it's so common, but its residence is out of reality, which is why we can dare not even visit it. Just knocking on its door; the sound that it makes ring of mysteriousness, and the depth of the tone is unfathomable.

My light but brisk steps were measured and belied confidence, because if I stopped, I would lose sight of Kirito. I glanced at him, out of instinct and worry; I needed to check on his situation and wanted him to look back at me, as if signalling that this wasn't the end. What I only received was another manic yell ground zero in my ear. I tried not to think of it and stared at the floor (Later, I realized that it was a bad idea. Otherwise, how would I see what's ahead of me?) And saw a sliver of a shadow steadily increasing in size until it was farbigger than me; It's impossible. We are headed towards the orange, setting sun. It's fortunate that the people ran towards it, so that the thugs will have trouble even facing our way. So that means….

"I found one of them." shouted a deep voice **right in front of me.**

He grabbed my shirt collar, (even though it doesn't have one). He lifted me up off the ground, and the fabric almost ripped. Damn, I don't have a replacement for that body armor. To get col (the currency of SAO), I would need to go to the dungeons and kick some monster ass, but I don't even know the basics of the game yet. I'm positive Kirito wouldn't teach me. I would just get ripped apart, if I wasn't going to be after these horrible people (bastards) were done with me.

This is not the end, but it feels like it is. I underestimated them. Of course they would go in front of the crowd, not linger behind it. They are not mindless drones but gamers, they adapt to any situation, and accept challenges presented to them by the environment of the game.

This is the finale, isn't it, Kirito? I quickly averted my gaze frommy attacker's eyes, which was filled with pure malice; devoid of mercy. He must feel good after reaching the "end" of the winding path called power, the result of his soulful search in the vast world of MMORPG. But my real aim was to look at my partner, and what I saw was what I should have expected. I shared my troubles with him, and he was naturally bothered with it, but I thought that it washed away by consequential connection that started the moment fate dragged him to hell with me. I was wrong, so terribly wrong. It was as if reality slapped me in the face and whispered in my ear "Welcome back. Was it a nice dream?"

I finally recovered from the initial shock, and tears flowed down my face, so much so that it was as if it was raining.. I sobbed quietly, for there is no one to understand my pain. But if it was all summed up in a few words…it would be this.

Why…? Why Kirito? Damn you…bastard!

**Why are you running away?**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I am in no way related to the other-worldly beings that brought us this gift. The factors that made up the plot promised a lot of things, but it disappointed us in the end. If I did, I would still let SAO keep running. It does not belong to me, it only belongs to the author Reki Kawahara and other people that I'm too lazy to include here.**

**Whoo. Damn good chapter I dare say. Klein wanted to whine, so he shall. I give him freedom to express his butthurt, and look at what we got out of it! **

**Someone that I absolutely had to thank and which I should have done a long time ago, is my good little friend...unfortunately, for some reason, won't show her name when I type it in. But I still should say my thanks here in my corner of the site. You introduced me into this wonderful world called Fanfiction, one that is able to compete with Sword Art Online in terms of awesomeness. Thank you for just appearing in my life out of nowhere, and just being my companion ever since I started this adventure. So a shout out is what you deserve, and a shout out is what you shall get.**

**Go ahead and ask me why Kirito is running away, even though I will never give you a direct answer. If you do, then that means you didn't read this, which would tell me a lot DX. Also, tell me how tired you are of my very long author notes, why is it even here, what do I even talk about, and why do you expect people to read this. If you do, then that tells me that you didn't read this DX, and probably never have and/or will.**

**Anyhow, keep reading guys! You can see that the plot is moving, right? Right?! Good. Expect **** to get down real soon. Cuz it's about to, son. **


	5. Escapism

**Chapter 5: Luna and Asuna**

**Author's Note: **I'll be changing some of SAO's game mechanics, so that it would make a fulfilling story with a good setting and such. How do you close the menu interface? I had to make up my own. Tell me.

Also, I forgive Reki Kawahara for making such a half-assed series with misused potential. He posted it as a web novel first, so he probably never thought that it would grow to be this fabulous. Because of this, he just never had a chance to collect his thoughts and build upon the story.

Cheers to my beta reader for putting up with good ol' me. God only knows what kind of face she makes whenever she sees my 'not-yet-ready-chapters'.

Feel free to give me some good SAO fanfictions, I really want to read some with an interesting concept.

If you want to know what's in store for this fanfiction and the plot, go read the stuff down there.

* * *

Amazing. Just truly amazing. This is mind-blowing. Just what is this? I had expected lower quality, but this is just…

Is this really Sword Art Online?

It has 'graphics' on par with reality, and the feeling of a new life, a promising new path, like a newborn, unlike the old one, is what it emits. In many ways, it's more beautiful in here than 'out there.' Is this actually the result of technology, first of it's many expected generations?

I could live here. I want to live here.

Tears flowed down my face. My face was glued to a permanent smile.

I'm here. I'm here. I'm finally here. After all this time…this is…escapism at its finest.

I can't move. My psychology was starting to reject the information my vision was receiving, and so I blacked out for a few moments, and I just had to withdraw to let me collect my breath.

Once I did, and I opened my eyes again, I just had to appreciate the countless hours of work put into this. It's just like another world. I'm sure everybody thinks like this, and that they just haven't spelled out their thoughts out loud. This is my lifesaver.

I wiped the mess on my face, and pinched it to rid it tentatively of that stupid look.

I forgot myself in those moments, and confusion filled me. Maybe I have to refresh my memory, and get used to this avatar. I felt like a baby, oblivious to a new, wider environment. I had many obstacles and problems getting here. But all that doesn't matter now…. I looked at the left upper corner of my vision.

My in-game name is Luna.

I am a female, I remember that much. I put my index finger and thumb together, then pulled downwards. My main menu window opened. I immediately heard a ringing sound internally, and the pop up of the semi-transparent window. On the left is a large portrait of the representation of my avatar, arms outstretched and legs slightly apart. It has buttons pointing to different parts of my body in which I can equip armor and clothes. They are the head, eyes, neck, shoulder, torso, and arms with two slots, hand, thigh, knee, leg and foot. My build is slender size, a normal girl's height for my age, black hair, similar to my real one, of which I am proud of, and a small face, with exotic and dark colored eyes.

On the right is a column of short width, containing five options, from top to bottom: Inventory/Equipment, Friends/Guild, Messaging/Chat, Maps/Quest and Settings/Main Menu.

I clicked on the Inventory/Equipment, and it had the Equipment, Items and Skills sub-menus, from which another scroll opens when accessed. I quickly scanned over these and decided it was time to close it. I spread my fingers across the left diagram, and brought it to a single point. It reduced to nothingness and was gone.

Hmm. That's all the things I need to know, even though I studied the game mechanics over and over again before the game was released. I won't be moving away from the First Level for a while, so I would check Maps/Quest later.

I surveyed my surroundings and looked for an exit out of the Town Square, where everybody spawns. It was futile, since it was so crowded. Why is everybody still staying here and interacting when they could be exploring the geography and fighting, movement and sensory perception mechanics of the game?

I don't get other people.

But, my mindset is not concerned with them right now. My business as of this moment is battling the challenge presented by this FullDive technology. I giggled, because of this feeling I have, of being as light as a feather, able to go anywhere. In this virtual reality, I could, and I'm more than keen to do it.

**Bring it on Sword Art Online!**

* * *

"Bring…it…on…boar…" I challenged the single monster, albeit breathlessly. My legs stayed planted to the ground, and my hands rested on my knees. I was gasping for air, as if I had just surfaced out of the water after a long time. My endurance gauge was dangerously low, and if it ran out, I would just stop moving and lie down on the ground, no matter where I am.

Luckily, the boar's health was equal with mine, even though it's own was lower on full. How could I be struggling to fight the lowest level mob?

It charged towards me and knocked me, letting me smother my face with green grass in the open plains. Stubbornly, I staggered up again, and tightened my grip on my small blade. I picked it up on the floor somewhere near the entrance to this dungeon. The dungeon itself was beautiful. The sun hung above me, there were boars roaming around peacefully and the open plains invited you look to the horizon, making you wonder what lies beyond. It urged you to just run and run, until you meet the end of this land, but I silently refused. I entered the dungeon with my full durability weapon, laughing and mocking at the person who lost one of his/her first bought items.

Suddenly, a boar had declared its intentions and unleashed a surprise attack on my sides upon entrance. Thus, here I am. All this time, I have been facing off a weakling. I'm even weaker, which was a big blow to my ego. If I could, I would have cried if I weren't in the middle of a fight.

AI algorithms made my enemy simple, for all it does is run at full speed right into the player, after he/she recovered. It did it's routine, and so did I. I dodged and stabbed its right flank, then backed out immediately. It turns around and faces me once again, and its body was ugly. Monsters don't heal so they sustain the injuries, and even the marks. Its whole being was covered in stab and slash marks. The only part that was saved was its face. Why would I? It is its weapon, and if I confronted it, then we would just both take damage. Although, even if we used an equal attack in terms of power, if I got hit, then I'm already at a big disadvantage.

This particular monster has a long interval between attacks. I could close in and just do close-quarters battle instead of this dodging game, but I dare not to. All I have seen it do is charge, but who knows what kind of other offense it has hidden.

However, now that I think about it, an essential for every MMORPG player is to know the attack patterns of every monster in the game, if you wish to enter all dungeons. Having the knowledge beforehand would be great, and I could have just asked people…but I don't want to. I don't want to socialize with others yet.

But when would I?

When would I be ready?

When should I be ready?

Will I ever be ready?

Those were depressing thoughts, so I cast them aside. I promised myself I would be strong. I wouldn't depend on anyone, wouldn't let anyone help me. I'm fine being alone…

I'm fine being alone.

Somewhere around my mind…a voice told me to say that in front of a mirror, looking into my eyes and keeping a straight face.

Of course I can. I'll prove it.

But for now, it's back to XP hoarding. Not that I'm in any progress to gain any…

I suddenly dropped my weapon. After slightly opening my palm for a second, resulting in letting go of my picked up item. I closed it tight again to a fist.

**'Where did the damn boar go?!' **I screamed internally, raising my hand to the heavens, cursing my situation.

Where did it go during my little day-dreaming session? Why would it go anywhere else?

Did it lose interest in me?

My will wavered, the faith in myself was destroyed and my whole body became limp and weak. I collapsed, with only my hands and legs supporting me.

"_**Ugh".**_I'm so pathetic. It didn't deem me worthy. Was I even worthy in the first place? How does an AI have this cheeky personality?

I damn you and praise you, Argus. You did a good job in making this game. Good job.

Too bad I can't say the same thing to myself.

I'm so ashamed of myself that I don't even want to cry. I stayed silent and still, since this is what I deserved. I'll wait for another monster to attack me….if one would do.

Hold on, what is this? I raised my head and turned it to the left.

What is this ridiculous sight I see? I don't even….

A girl with long hazel hair is being chased by a monster, undoubtedly the boar I was fighting earlier, looking at it's battle injuries. The girl is screaming, and the boar is…I don't know if it's happy (horny) or they're actual squeals of war.

Hold on, what is this? This feeling…it's relieving.

**'Someone is more pathetic than me…'** I thought.

This one realization brought delight to my mood.

'Hahaha. That girl is so pitiful' I thought as I swiped a tear off the corner of my eye.

The girl suddenly switched course and headed towards me.

"Help me! Save me!" she shouted at me, as she got steadily closer.

'How would I be able to help you? How?' I asked myself in my mind. I, myself, is running.

'Stupid. I don't want to bother with you. It's your own problem now.', I decided, in response to the last question.

Wait, wouldn't this just make me pathetic too? I don't want to be on the same caliber as her. Damn it. I have no choice now. I jumped and did a 180, sliding backwards on landing due to my former momentum…and guess what I saw?

**Jesus, she was right behind me all along!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I am, in no way, related to the otherworldly beings that brought us this gift, one that held a lot of promise but died later on. It only belongs to Reki Kawahara and such...All I own is this fanfiction, the plot, the OCs (and trust me, there are a lot) and you got to give credit to me when you want to use any part of this for whatever reason. If possible, you also got to tell me.**

**I was not amused when I came to the realization that for the time-skip, where SAO does not cover the time of Asuna of when she joined the Knights of the Blood...and she was alone?! (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) Sure, she had the blacksmith later, but...really? So, I gave her a companion. Also, Kayaba will not be Heathcliff. In fact, I don't think I'll even put Heathcliff in there, I may change my mind, but it's just too easy. **

**Just a heads up, I already know what I'm going to do with this fanfiction. There will be 2 parts, and we are currently one Part 1: This world is real. After that, there will be 3 arcs, unless I change my mind. As you can guess, this will be pretty damn long. **


End file.
